The Town of Last Haven: A Zombie Novel

Part 1

On a crisp Autumn, the five Brown siblings were finally at home together. School over for the day and homework assignments complete, they could finally relax. Eighteen-year-old Julia, the eldest of the Brown siblings, was outside on the front porch reading a book. Seventeen-year-old Natalie, younger than Julia by only ten months, was in the yard gardening. 

She and their mother shared a special love for all things that grew--the bookish, fantasy-loving Julia said they would make bedazzling Hobbits of the Shire. 

Sixteen-year-old Austin and fourteen-year-old Trent were inside in the basement playing on their computers. 

Twelve-year-old Clarise was in the backyard out of Natalie's sight--she was playing with the family dog, a black Labrador named Opal. Clarise adored Opal completely and the feeling was more than mutual. Opal was protective of her family and home, going to extreme lengths to sleep outside in the doghouse to make certain no thieving raccoons got into the garden.

The Brown parents--Owen and Violet--were both out working. Owen worked for Mayor Thomas in City Hall, Violet working as a small-town socialite who did charity work all day, every day, and attended social balls many a night.

"Natalie, where are mom and daddy again? I'm sorry I keep forgetting..." Clarise asked as she ran up to her gardening sister, Opal running around the outside perimeter of the fence. Opal barked not once, but then chased a squirrel away from digging a hole under the fence to get to the garden.

Natalie took in a breath, having explained this at least twice before. "Mom and dad are out tonight at the town hall for a meeting of the minds. They'll be back around midnight... maybe a little after. You'll see them tomorrow morning." 

By now, Julia was coming towards them from the front porch. She'd taken her book with her, and as Natalie and Clarise looked to their eldest sister, they wondered what she was reading. 

"I think I'll clean up, then we'll make dinner, okay?" Natalie looked to Julia, who nodded in response. Natalie was the better cook of the two, Julia not much help in the kitchen other than making coffee in the Keurig or making instant powdered just-add-water drinks.

"Hey, who's that?" Clarise asked, pointing to some stranger limping across the street as he moved to another house.

"I don't know, Clarise," said Natalie, biting her lower lip. Unlike Julia, Natalie didn't use glasses or contacts--she wasn't nearsighted like Julia was--and she could see the man's jacket was torn, his shoes leaving dark patches in the mowed grass. The grass looked shiny beneath him, and the hair on the back of her neck rose--Julia's, too--and both ushered Clarise into the house, Natalie quietly locking the doors and windows on the ground floor of their house.

"What do we do?" Natalie asked Julia quietly as Clarise ran downstairs to meet up with Austin and Trent. Julia looked pale--paler than usual, that is--and her eyes looked more grey than blue.

"You're asking me?" Julia asked with astonishment.

"Yes!" Natalie whisper-shouted. "You're the leader of our little troupe, aren't you?" Both knew the answer--Julia was their leader, of a sort; she was the female Captain Kirk of their Enterprise crew, the Feyre Archeron of their Night Court, their leader, period. Natalie was the Spock to their clique, always had been, always would be. "What do you suggest?" Natalie lowered her voice when she heard Trent and Clarise chasing each other downstairs. She pulled Julia by the arm and took her to the foot of the staircase. "Tell me. I will follow."

"Stuff like... like this only happens in movies." Julia had told herself that, but it she was coming to realize that this would become very, very dangerous very, very swiftly. "Lock all the doors and windows, pull down all the shades and close all the curtains. Leave no light on. Gather the baseball bat and foils from dad's workout room. I'll go to the upstairs office and get his gun."

"You know where the key is?" Natalie asked, her green eyes wide.

"Don't tell dad" was all Julia said on the matter.

"You have my word," said Natalie, going downstairs to inform their other siblings.